David Starley

I first studied art at Sydney University whilst working in a steel foundry. After a subsequent career in archaeology I now work as a professional artist, based in Saltaire, West Yorkshire. My aim is to evoke an emotional response to our environment through art. I work exclusively in oil paint, which is applied thickly in an impasto technique using a painting knife to produce an almost sculpted image.

Subject matter includes the landscape of Yorkshire and beyond. In recent years, trees have become the central focus of my work. By portraying the forms and character of individual specimens, or groups in woodland, the viewer is led to a greater appreciation of these living structures – changeless yet changing, strong yet vulnerable; never to be taken for granted.

Artistic influences include the Canadian; Tom Thomson, Australian; Arthur Streeton and Corot and his fellow painters of the French Barbizon School. My, His style, however, remains unique to myself and my greatest inspiration comes from nature itself.